The New Inquiry Symposium: Conservative Thought

Find outlined below key areas of inquiry on conservative thought. These

suggestions were inspired by our salon, but your response need not be grounded
in the readings we cite (see our invitation to contribute). You may answer one or
many questions directly, combine topic areas into a single answer, or go beyond
the prompt to explore whatever interests you most about conservatism.

Your response may be as long or as short as it needs to be, though we find pieces
between 1,000 and 3,500 words to be most effective.

We will accept pieces previously published elsewhere, provided we are legally

permitted to reprint them.

All submissions must be e-mailed to thenewinquiry@gmail.com by July 25.

Topic Areas & Questions

Reactionism: Is conservatism always and only a reaction to change,
resulting in a politics of shortsighted showdowns with foes of the moment,
or does it contain a positive and sustainable program?

Economics: Does free-market capitalism, which encourages change and

mobility, undermine conservative values?

Elitism: Burkean conservatism would have us defer authority and cultural

guardianship to an aristocracy, but it is unclear whether the defining
element of an American aristocracy would be money, fame, or prestige.
How are we to make sense of the anti-elitist and anti-establishment
sentiments that pervade conservative discourse today?

Religion: Conservatism founds its logic of a higher order on religious

conviction. God provides the benchmarks of extrinsic, absolute value. What
are the implications of this foundation in the Wests prevailingly secular
age?

Art & Culture: Is it the job of universities to protect high culture, even
though the distinctions between high and low cannot be rationally
defended? If the practice of preserving and fostering the creation of art is
essential to cultural guardianship, does it follow that it is incumbent upon
conservatives to engage in the study and support of the arts?

Sex & Gender: In embracing equality as a cardinal modern value, have we

failed to account for the continued utility of gender roles (whether or not
they are socially or biologically determined)?

The Future of Conservatism: If there is a future for the Right, what is it?